Salt Lake Telegram | 1921-02-13 | Page 34 | French Premier Real Firebrand

FRENCH PREMIER REALF1REBRAND Briand Recognized as Nation's Na-tion's Strongest Man i PARIS. Feb. 12. 'Can't com. No boots.- That telegram was sent years ago by Art slide Briand. 8oa of a poor Breton innkeeper, he was then struggling to earn a livelihood am a barrister. Today he la France s premier and the foremost figure in Franc fight to make Germany pay heavy reparations. This is his seventh term as prime minister. lie haa lien called upon In every great crisis ot the republic in the past eleven years. Krland wan a pillar of the socialist party. He f avored t he strike as the beat weapon of the proletariat. ... Iurlug hla .premiership a railroad strike threatened. Hu tailed the railroad j men to the country's colors and made I them operate the roals aa soldiers of ;mr. It was HHand who crushed the defeatists defeat-ists who wanted to make an early and costly pea- with Ccriiwiny. Kriand would rather fmh than fight, but he's a fighter from "way luck." lie seems to be the least interested of all when he Is attacked in the parliamentary parlia-mentary chamler. lie apK-ar bored. ray-faced. hair disordered, mustache drooping i'ke that of a walrus, he slouches to his place to reply to the onslaught. Stronger than Clemenceau, more eTo quernt than Vivtant, he Is transformed Into a raging torrent of oratory. He sweeps down upon his auditors with aMthe known foren.-m tru-ks and tracfu. " lie plays uon their passions and t'lnn" turns as an organist plays upon keys and stops. And the echo is usually victory for Briand.